You Need Kindling to Light a Fire
by RunningBrooke
Summary: Ginny was broken, dull and lifeless as life's expectations became too much for her. But she finds relief in the oddest of places.


There are moments when you give up all hope

Then pick yourself back up in the most unlikely places

* * *

A sobbing echoed through the dank corridors of the dungeons, bouncing off the walls and slowly losing themselves among the dull draperies and broken furniture. In the center of the maze, a girl sat, huddled and utterly broken. Her shoulders were shaking, her red hair draped around her face. But they had lost the color they use to have.

"Aw, look at little cry-baby weasel," a voice sneered from the surrounding darkness. Draco Malfoy stepped out of the shadows, a smirk marring his otherwise aristocratic face.

"Go away, Malfoy." Her voice was cracked with tears.

"Is little weasel afraid of the big, bad ferret?"

There was no response. So Ginny was surprised when he slid down the wall to sit beside her, his face hidden in shadow. She looked up, her face wet.

"What do you want? Come to tease me more?" she snapped bitterly, wiping her cheek with her sleeve.

She was shocked at the tone of voice issuing from his lips.

"No," he said softly, the smirk disappearing from his face.

"Then what?" she asked.

"What were you crying about?" He abruptly changed the subject. Ginny shrugged.

"Nothing you need to know." Draco sighed.

"Owl me when you want to tell me," he said finally, standing up. And with that, he was gone.

* * *

Ginny spent the next few days drying up her tears, then pondering what had changed in Draco Malfoy. He was the boy who teased her about her clothes, her hair, and her freckles. He would bait Ron until he snapped, then move on to her.

 _It's probably just a trick,_ Ginny told herself over and over again, trying to forget the whole incident. But Draco - when had it become Draco? - would not let her forget. He'd brush against her in the halls, the scent of his robes traveling, though unwillingly, to her nose. The occasional look passed between them, and then Ginny would turn away and furiously engage the person sitting next to her in conversation. But none of her friends noticed this small change. They were too busy with their own lives, too caught up with the school's gossip to acknowledge Ginny's change in mood. Then again, she had probably scared them all away with her moping.

Her grades were affected as well, though. She use to be top at potions, instead, she fell to the bottom. Professor Sprout would cast her anxious looks across the Great Hall during dinner, the only meal she actually attended. And Professor Mcgonagall, however strict, would notice as well, and try to wheedle the reason out of her. But as soon as anyone mentioned it, Ginny would clamp her mouth shut and turn away.

She still didn't know why she hadn't turned away from Draco.

* * *

Draco ran a hand through his usually pristine hair, gritting his teeth. He didn't know what intrigued him so about the youngest Weasley, when every other one was a nuisance to him. He didn't know what urged him to look at her during dinner, in the library, and in the potions classroom where she had been moved up to. But he was almost disappointed when he heard a conversation he should not have listened to.

"Miss Weasley, a word." Snape's normally slimy voice had softened now, and as he guided Ginny into the storage room behind his desk, Draco saw his own worry reflected in the older man's eyes. Draco had muttered some nonsensical excuse about needing supplies and stood up shortly after, pushing the table away from him and striding to the door Ginny and the potions professor had entered just before.

"Oh, good, I hope she gets put back into the sixth year class where she belongs," Pansy murmured to her partner, Blaise. Draco turned to snarl at her, but stopped short as he saw Blaise's eyes gazing back at him, his forehead slightly furrowed. He turned his head away a split-second later.

Pushing his way behind a shelf facing away from the classroom, he stilled his heartbeat and closed his eyes, his ears straining.

"-afraid you cannot attend this class anymore if your grades do not improve, Miss Weasley." Snape's drawl came softly.

"But, sir-" Snape cut her off.

"I know you're smart enough to surpass every single person in this class, Miss Weasley," he said, his voice dropping to a near-whisper, "but I cannot keep you in this class for much longer if you do not show growth. The headmaster will only listen for so long."

"Yes, sir." Ginny sounded near tears, and Draco had the sudden urge to strangle whatever had caused her distress.

"Good. Please try to get your act back together, Miss Weasley. I will find a tutor for you if you deem it fit." As shuffling ensured in the room, Draco realized with a start that the conversation was coming to a close. He slipped back out from behind the shelf and hurried back to his seat, sitting down just as the door reopened and Snape stepped out, followed by Ginny.

"He ran out of… " Draco fumbled for an ingredient, something he had never done before. "Of beetroot," he finished lamely. Goyle merely grunted and returned to his foul-smelling concoction. Turning his head, he saw Ginny, head bent together with Potter. A sudden rush of jealousy swept through Draco, leaving him breathless.

He was jealous, of Potter no less. But this thought did not stop the next one from coming, nor the next, nor the next.

 _I should be the one comforting her, not Potter._

 _When is she going to send me that owl?_

 _She probably thinks I'm nothing._

These thought were chased out of his head, however, as Goyle nearly caused his cauldron to explode.

* * *

Ginny was extremely conscious of the stormy grey eyes that were trained on her back, as if they could penetrate her robe and see into her soul. Shaking off the tingling throughout her spine, she turned to Harry.

"Hello, Harry!" she said, so obviously fake, that Hermione and her brother turned curiously to see what happened, before going back to their snogging fest.

"H-hi, Gin. What's wrong?" His hands came up to grip her shoulders as Ginny suddenly broke down. "Here, Gin, come on. What's happened?" He glanced quickly around, and his eyes narrowed as he noticed Draco staring. "Is it that bastard?" he hissed. "I'll show him, I'll-"

"No, Harry, please don't." Harry transferred his gaze back to Ginny, and abruptly stood up.

"Come on, Gin, let's get you out of here." He slid his hand around Ginny's waist, half supporting her as she stumbled out of the hall. Their journey attracted quite a few stares from the other houses, and Draco clenched his fists as he saw the pair disappearing through the doors.

 _Stupid Potter, probably taking her away to snog her senseless. Why does that matter?_

He tore his gaze away from the front entrance, only to meet his friend's eyes.

Blaise.

"What?" he snapped, unclenching his hand finger by finger and wrapping them around his knife, tearing into the meat on his plate. Blaise looked troubled.

"Go after her," was the only thing he said, however, as he returned to his meal.

Draco's mind reeled as his friend's words set in. _Go after her? What did he know?_ Looking up, he saw Blaise's impenetrable gaze trained on him again.

"Go, Draco." Almost against his own will, he stumbled to his feet, his robes nearly snagging on the wooden bench.

"Why?" he managed to whispered. Blaise looked back up.

"If you don't know, then you're a dafter fool than I thought you were."

Draco nearly snapped back, but something in him wouldn't let him, and he merely nodded to Blaise. Then, not even feeling the hundreds of pairs of eyes on him, turned around and strode quickly to the front entrance.

He stopped in the archway, quickly judging each hallway. Then, he took off at a sprint, his robes flapping behind him. Right, left, straight, right again.

"I know, but… " the voices faded out of his hearing again, and he skidded to a halt, backtracking slightly until he was standing directly in front of a classroom door.

"Gin, you _have_ to understand… "

His blood started to boil. How _dare_ he call her Gin. Resisting the urge to barge in, he waited with baited breath as the conversation continued.

"But Harry, this isn't what I want! This was never what I wanted!" A faint scuffling came from within the room.

"Yes it is, Gin! Don't you remember? You were smitten with me the first moment you saw me!" Draco heard a sob, and it took all his will power not to enter the room and knock Potter unconscious.

"No, it wasn't! That was just a foolish girl's crush! I was _eleven!_ "

"But what made you change your mind?"

There was a sudden silence.

"I found someone else."

More silence.

"Who is it?" His voice was dangerously low.

"I don't need to tell you," came the equally low reply. There was a long silence after that, broken up only by occasional sobs from Ginny.

"Tell me."

"No."

"Goddammit, Ginny, _tell me!_ "

"I won't!"

"Ginny!" When Draco heard a heavy thud, he threw open the door and stormed in.

* * *

Ginny was sobbing, empty, heaving sobs as the door slammed against the stone wall. She flinched away from the noise, shutting her eyes tight and curling up as tight as she could. But the footsteps that approached were different, slightly hesitant, _not Harry's._ That was all that mattered.

When the person sat down next to her trembling form, she accepted the embrace with no hesitation, crying into the person's robe.

"Shhh," the person murmured, and Ginny felt the noise rumbled deep in his chest.

 _His?_

But the thought flew from her mind as arms were wrapped around her and she was enveloped in a strong scented cloak. It was heavy, not like the threadbare ones she wore, handed down from her brother's. And the scent was like nothing she had ever smelt before. Dark and heavy, mixed with pine and sage.

Her eyes finally snapped open.

The first thing that met her eyes was a green and silver badge.

 _Slytherin_.

Her eyes traveled upward, past the broad shoulders, and met the icy grey depths in a well-defined face.

" _Draco?_ " She breathed in shock. She tried to scramble back toward the door, but Draco tightened his arms around her and buried his nose in her hair.

"Don't," he murmured, inhaling deeply. Ginny shivered as his breath brushed against her exposed neck, warming and chilling her at the same time.

"What - how - ?"

"Wait."

And so she waited.

Draco finally tore himself away from her hair, only to drag her into his lap and bring his mouth to her neck. His vision was hazy, a mix of red and pale, lightly dusted skin. The scent of her drove him crazy. He couldn't get enough of it.

Finally, Ginny pushed him away, her eyes wide.

"Draco?" she asked softly, still in shock. He shook his head.

"I don't know why," he whispered in response to her silent question. "It just happened."

"But-but why me?" Draco shook his head again.

"I don't know." He finally looked up to meet her gaze, his eyes dark. "Are you okay about it?" When Ginny nodded, he drew her to his chest, tucking her head under his chin. She felt warmth seep through her, bringing a her strength she didn't know existed.

* * *

Draco was still shocked as he rocked the littlest Weasley in his arms. But she was more than that now, he realized, as her shaking shoulders gradually stilled. She was Ginny. She was his. At least, if she said yes. He didn't want to think about what he would do if she said no.

Now that he thought about it, he couldn't imagine the time when he hadn't been enraptured by her, watching her in the halls, _devouring_ her. He didn't know what he would do without her.

"Draco?" Her voice was soft, trembling. Draco wanted to kiss every last bit of her fear away; it wasn't like her, after all. She was usually so bright, so cheery, so _alight_ with happiness. This version didn't suit her.

"Yes?" He saw her biting her bottom lip, and had to shut his eyes briefly so as not to kiss her right then and there.

"Is it real?" Ambiguous though the question was, Draco understood at once.

"I hope so." There was a tense silence, but Draco relaxed as Ginny buried her face in his chest again.

"Good. So do I."

It was then that Draco felt an odd fluttering in his chest, something he had never felt before. it was warm, welcoming, and he felt an attachment he only felt with his mother. But this one was stronger. And different.

He realized with a start that he had subconsciously stood up, pushed Ginny into the wall and his face was now mere inches away from hers. Her eyes were wide and lips slightly parted, her cheeks flushed and he held her hands against the wall over her head.

Draco cocked an eyebrow, asking permission.

 _When had he ever done that?_

Ginny nodded.

 _Yes._

And Draco kissed her.

He was shocked at how innocent the kiss was, how utterly pure. He had never kissed another girl before like this. Usually the girls he targeted were ones with experience, ones that could satisfy his needs quickly and then forgotten about. But Ginny was not like this. He couldn't just kiss her and toss her away like trash. He didn't know why, but he couldn't. He felt Ginny's lips part against his own, but didn't try to penetrate her. Not yet. Not this early.

 _Since when has Draco Malfoy held back?_ he wondered, slightly awed at his behavior. _And what would Father think if he knew?_ But right now, he didn't care. All he cared about was the girl pressed up against him. He released her hands to grasp her shoulders, and she wound her arms around his neck.

He finally had to pull back from lack of air.

 _She's beautiful._ That was the first thing that ran through his mind as he gazed at her. Lips slightly swollen, hair mussed, eyes closed and skin glowing pink. And her freckles…

He had always thought her freckles were like all her brothers': loud, big, and atrocious. But up close, they were delicate, a light dusting across her nose and the rest scattered across her skin. He found he wanted to find out if they covered the rest of her. But no, that wouldn't do. She was a Weasley, he, a Malfoy. She was from a poor family, he, excessively rich.

And he found that he didn't care about any of that.

"Draco?" He shivered as his name passed her lips, something he had never done before.

"Ginevra." Her name sounded so soft, so rich, he wanted to repeat it to oblivion.

This was enough an answer for Ginny. She tilted her head back up to press her lips to his jawline, slightly scared at her own daring.

She didn't care either.

Draco sucked in a breath as he felt her lips moving up his jaw, his cheek, and then at his lips once more. This kiss was shorter, fiercer, more passionate.

And as Ginny kissed him, she felt something stir within her, growing brighter and stronger every moment.

 _Fire._ She felt herself stand up straighter, letting the warmth seep into every inch of her being. She had never felt so wonderful.

When she finally broke away, Draco wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up, squealing, into the air. She laughed, and the sound sent even more warmth through him. He hadn't heard the sound in so long. Ginny laughed again as he spun her around, and for the first time, she saw a happy, carefree smile on his face, the one that made her heart ache. He really was beautiful.

* * *

"What did Potter do to you?" Draco murmured against Ginny's skin, sending tremors down her spine.

"H-he didn't try to hurt me, if that's what you're asking," she replied, snuggling closer to Draco's chest.

"Are you sure? Because I can hurt him if you-"

"No, Draco." She placed a finger on his mouth, tracing his lip with a delicate finger. "There's no need for that." She smiled ruefully. "Though I _was_ thinking about it." Draco grinned.

"Are you sure?" he pressed.

"Yes. Positive." He sighed.

"Well, if it makes you happy."

"It does." Draco's grin widened.

"Good." He leaned in for another kiss, and Ginny complied. Each time they touched, a spark traveled through them, and they both couldn't have it any other way.

* * *

Ginny was more light-hearted in her classes, returning to her usual bubbly self after a few weeks.

Draco was rumored to have let a few first years off the hook, something he had never done before. They clashed, yes, but yet they fit perfectly.

She was his fire; and he was her kindling.


End file.
